Lawmakers: Repeal of military gay ban possible in lame-duck Congress

Reid said on Wednesday that he was committed to bringing the 2011 Defense Authorization Bill up for another vote during the lame duck session, with DADT repeal language included. A previous attempt to pass the Defense Authorization Bill was blocked by Republicans over procedure in late September.

Republicans wanted to add unlimited amendments to the bill, while Reid was unwilling to debate on any more than three.

“I am confident that we have more than 60 votes prepared to take up the Defense Authorization Bill, with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if only there will be a guarantee of a fair and open amendment process,” Lieberman said.

The Pentagon is currently finalizing a report on the policy. Early leaks of the information contained in the report suggest that an overwhelming majority of servicemembers would not have a problem if the policy were to be repealed. The full report is due Dec. 1.